Noth waved his hand, dismissing the question, and started removing his short coat himself. It plastered to his back with blood, much of it too old and crusted to be from this fight.
“My lovely bodyguard was the first one to truss me up like a rabbit at a Full Moon Festival and throw me to the wolves. I guess the High Council finally got tired of having a half breed on their throne.”
I couldn’t help a tiny wave of sympathy for the elf. He was acting an ass, but he clearly needed to protect himself. Noth recounted his betrayal with such calm, but Ward turned to steel beside me. “I’m sorry, Noth. They don’t deserve you,” Ward said.
“Never have,” Noth replied. “They will be next on the revenge list.”
I retrieved the black box from Greg’s side pack and brought it to Noth as he poured water all over his back. “Do you recognize this thing?” I held up the box to Noth.
“Brad and his little friends.” Noth crushed it in his hands and more metal wires spilled out. At the heart of it was a still-glowing board of lights.
“Brad!?” Ward said. “The bat waffle tried to breach Dane’s gate to the human world a few months ago? How did he get into the Harrowlands?”
“I don't know, but he established himself enough to make this.” Noth held out the device. “You should have destroyed it. It would have made you harder to find. This is the worst kind of magic.” Noth plucked the board between his fingers and snapped it. The lights died.
This guy already had a reputation? Would the monsters try to pin this on my village? Brad sounded like a human name and dread pooled in my stomach. The elves kept us contained for this very reason. They had a strict no demagogue rule. No one, in all the Harrowlands, wanted relics and wires strapped to their head to do someone’s bidding.
“I should have killed him when he tried crossing the Gate the first time.” Ward fumed, pacing.
Noth dried his back and drank the rest of the water. “It’s no matter. They will all be dead soon.”
We waited for him to say more, but he just put his jerkin back on.
“That’s the plan?” I asked Noth. “That doesn’t sound much like a plan. Some elaboration would be helpful. Those men in black had weapons of war.”
“Don’t worry your pretty human head.” Noth stopped short of patting me there. He turned to Ward. “You found a lovely but useless mate, Ward. I pictured you with a spicier, bit more hard-to-handle woman.”
Ward growled. “Noth. You didn’t see?—”
I saw. I saw red and that smoky voice returned with a vengeance, nearly splitting my head in two.He thinks to challenge us?
“All right, soldiers! Listen up. It’s one full day of travel from here before we can attack the human’s fortress. The humans captured another relic, that they are attempting to distill. The infusions have not been working.” Noth unconsciously rubbed his arm. “I will destroy the final relic myself if you can hold off the soldiers and shifters he has on patrol.”
That actually wasn’t a terrible plan, but we weren’t soldiers and Noth wasn’t our King. I would release all of our brood back to their normal lives before I would risk them. Ward, Noth and I would deal with the threat ourselves. We were okay at sneaking so far. Well, no one had died, at least.
“You should all go home,” I spoke up, stepping up onto the boulder Noth vacated.
Noth tugged on my kaftan, urging me down. “Okay, stop playing, human. This is serious business.”
“We thank you for traveling with us, but none of you need to be on a battlefield.” My words rippled murmurs through the brood.
Looking down at Noth made him less scary. Which was good, because his fierce frown was full of sharp teeth. “Ward, come get your girl.”
Ward shook his head like his friend was the stupidest creature in the world.Don’t hurt him too badly,Ward said.He’s locked himself in that elf kingdom for too long.
Let me eat him.It was my dragon, close to the surface, looking out of my eyes, too. Her tail flicked in my mind.
Noth tugged harder on my ankle this time. “Don’t make me inject a little fear into you. Most people don’t like what pops out.”
“Youwouldn’t like what pops out, Noth,” Ward said.
I raised my voice. No one was going to order my brood anywhere. “Go now if you don’t want to fight. No one will blame you for wanting to live.”
Nobody left the brood, but Ward, Declan and Noora smiled in a way that warmed my still-nervous heart. I felt like a proper leader for a second.
Noth swaggered up to me. “I’ve got this. Just hold still, human. I won’t hurt you too much.”
Ward reached out a hand to stop his friend, but Noth was already clutching my ankle, flooding me with just enough fear to make me a little bit angry but a whole lot of dragon.
